This thread might be the place to put this. I was just watching the Antiques Road Show. They went to a museum in San Antonio and showed some cap and ball revolvers from the Texas Rangers. The first one they showed was the Paterson. Then went on to show a couple of Walkers and ended with the Dragoon. Something they said about the Walker I had not heard before. They said that the metallurgy of the cylinders was not up to the challenge and they had a habit of exploding when fired. I had not heard this about the Walkers before. But the guy who said it was a curator of a museum that specialized in Old Texas antiques so I suspect that he knows his stuff. Has others heard this about the original Walkers? He also pointed out the problem of the loading lever falling under recoil and then showed how the Dragoon solved these problems.

So what do you all think about the mystery of the exploding Walker cylinders? (sorry I'm reading a lot of Hardy boys with my son.)

Some people think it was because most people who were issued them had never shot a revolver before, much less loaded and shot one. That, and the picket bullets issued with them were pretty unusual for the day as well. There is some speculation that they loaded these conical bullets upside down, creating a sort of shape charge in the cylinder.

The Walker Colt followed the first successful Colt Revolver, the Paterson model produced between 1836-42. The Republic of Texas was the major purchaser of the early revolver and Samuel Walker became familiar with it during his service as a Texas Ranger. In 1847, Walker was engaged in the Mexican-American War as a captain in the United States Mounted Rifles (USMR- colloquially, but inaccurately, called "Dragoons.") He approached Samuel Colt requesting a large revolver to replace the single shot Aston Johnson holster pistols in use. The 44-.45 caliber revolver would be carried in saddle mounted holsters and would be large enough to dispatch horses as well as enemy soldiers. The Walker Colt was almost sixteen inches long and weighed 4 pounds nine ounces. The initial contract called for 1,000 of the revolvers and accouterments. Colt commissioned Eli Whitney Junior to fill the contract and produced an extra 100 revolvers for private sales and promotional gifts. The Walker Colt was used in the Mexican-American War and on the Texas frontier.

Problems with the Walker included its very large size, ruptured cylinders attributed to primitive metallurgy or (more likely) loading the original picket bullets backwards into the chambers and, an inadequate loading lever catch that often allowed the loading lever to drop during recoil, preventing fast follow-up shots. Period-correct fixes for this often included placing a rawhide loop around both the barrel and loading lever, to prevent the loading lever from dropping under recoil and locking the action.

Subsequent contracts beginning in 1848 followed, for what is today known among collectors as the 1st Dragoon, 2nd Dragoon, and 3rd Colt Dragoon Revolver models that were all based on the Walker Colt, enabling a rapid evolution of the basic revolver design. These improvements included shorter chambers, typically loaded only to 50 grains instead of 60 grains, thereby reducing the occurrence of ruptured cylinders, and the addition of a positive catch at the end of the loading lever to prevent the dropping of the loading lever under recoil.

The Walker Colt was quite powerful, with modern replicas firing modern FFFg blackpowder producing energy levels in excess of 500 foot pounds with both picket bullets and 0.454 inch diameter (141 grain) round ball bullets. The black powder Walker Colt is regarded as the most powerful commercially-manufactured repeating handgun from 1847 until the introduction of the .357 Magnum in 1935, and has a muzzle energy nearly exactly the same as a 4-inch barreled handgun firing a .357 Magnum. The Walker Colt has long maintained a unique position and mystique among handgun users, and its name is often used as a common expression of any overly-large generic handgun example.

Medical officer, John "R.I.P" Ford took a special interest in the Walkers when they arrived at Vera Cruz. He obtained two examples for himself and is the primary source for information about their performance during the war and afterward. His observation that the revolver would carry as far and strike with the same or greater force than the 54 caliber Mississippi Rifle seems to have been based on a single observation of a Mexican soldier hit at a distance of well over one hundred yards. The Walker, like most succeeding martial pistols and revolvers was a practical weapon out to about fifty yards.

Just posted for help on finding a Walker Holster, then noticed this thread. Purchased my Uberti Walker last month...read your posts and others, and now have fired in various ways 100 rounds. If you'll let a rookie black powder guy join, tell me what to do and I'm in! Thanks again for all your help and information.

Afternoon Mr. MyKeal sir!...Treasurer..hmmm...I think I shall refer to you as the 'Knight of the Money Bins'. You may of course simply refer to me as 'Bwana' or perhaps the 'Great White Hunter'
I myself have a pair of Walkers. One of them has never been fired. It is lubed and put away as a spare.
Well, good evening to you sir....I do so love it when someone can hit the bullseye....

speckkdds@bellsouth.net.. Hell of a name.
Good news for you tonight, sir!
Nothing is required of you other than the fact that you appreciate a fine revolver such as the .44 Colt Walker.
The treasurer, Mr. MyKeal, who serve's as Knight of the Money Bins, may wish to speak with you concerning a few small trivial details such as a minute and paltry sum collected once a year (cash in advance of course) for the priviledge of belonging to the club.
Then of course there's the matter of a small fee (not really even enough for one to sneeze at) that must be paid each time you put the letters 'Colt' or 'Walker' into print on this thread, and of course I'm sure someone has already mentioned to you about the fine you will have to pay if you ever spell the word 'Walker' without using a capital 'W'.
Other than that I guess that's about it. There are a few other little things such as a licensing fee for the right to brag on this thread (the premium license which cost's only a bit more will give you the right to tell lies on here) and what have you but someone else will get with you on that and the other little odds and ends I forgot to mention.
In the meanwhile, WELCOME ABOARD....

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